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Article - Knicks Just Missed Moving Up, But Shumpert Can Shoot

Here's Chris Sheridan's article from ESPN NY on the Knicks draft last night. It leaves me wondering three things. One, who was that other team that backed out of letting the Knicks move up in the first?. Two, who were the Knicks going to take if they moved up (Jimmer?)? Three, where was Shumpert on other teams' draft boards if he showed that he could shoot during workouts?

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- The book on Iman Shumpert was that he couldn't shoot. But when the New York Knicks saw him knocking down shot after shot when they worked him out, they determined the book was outdated.

Outgoing Knicks president Donnie Walsh raved about Shumpert's shooting ability, his defensive abilities and his 40-inch vertical leap Thursday night after the Knicks took the Georgia Tech combo guard with the 17th pick in the draft, passing over Marshon Brooks of Providence, Chris Singleton of Florida State and Kenneth Faried of Morehead State.

"He shot the ball extremely well. His shot's not broke. Some guys you see, and you can tell right away they can't shoot and they're going to have to learn form. He has good form, he was hitting shots, he can defend very well. Very well. And he's got tremendously long arms, so I really liked him a lot," Walsh said.

Walsh said the Knicks had one trade in the works that would have allowed them to move up, but the team they were talking to ended up having the opportunity to draft the player they wanted.

He said the Knicks chose a defensive-minded guard rather than a defensive-minded forward simply because of the lack of playing time opportunities available at those positions behind Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire.

"As the draft went on, because there [were] other guys that could have fallen to us, and I was like 'Whoa, if he falls down, we're going to have to take him.' And they got taken right before us, and we ended up doing what we did, and I was happy with that," Walsh said. "At some point you look and there was three teams to pick, and you had four players there, so you know we were going to do all right."

Players Walsh was likely referring to include Southern Cal center Nikola Vucevic, who went No. 16 to Philadelphia, and Kawhi Leonard, who went at No. 15 to Indiana and was traded to San Antonio.

Walsh said the Knicks would still try to determine whether it was possible to purchase a second-round pick, but he said (late in the first round) there was no one left on the board who was going to be able to come in next season and be an impact player.

Shumpert worked out for the Knicks on June 9 and was assigned to defend Hofstra guard Charles Jenkins.

"I shot it real well. I impressed everybody. They all said I couldn't shoot, and I shot it well," said Shumpert, who estimated he made 17 or 18 of 25 NBA-range 3-point shots during shooting drills.

The 6-foot-6 Shumpert, who played three seasons at Georgia Tech, shot only 28 percent from 3-point range and a shade below 41 percent from the field, but he did average 2.87 steals, eighth-best in the NCAA.

Walsh said he expected Shumpert to play at times in a two-guard alignment with Chauncey Billups in which Billups would man the off-guard position. Shumpert's addition adds depth to a Knicks backcourt that also includes Toney Douglas and Landry Fields, but the Knicks still have a huge hole to fill at center, where Ronny Turiaf is their only big man under contract for next season.

"We did get to the playoffs, which I said was my goal for the third year, and we did have a winning record," Walsh said. "Once we made the [Anthony] trade, we got two stars but we lost a lot of pieces that need to play with stars. And the job now is to replace them. Because of the trade, we're not in a great cap position for [this summer], but the following summer we're in a great position.

"So the job now is to manage the cap and to add pieces that will cover up whatever it is we don't have out there, and obviously big people are that. And so we're very aware of that," said Walsh, whose tenure as team president will end in one week.

"So the job now is to manage the cap and to add pieces that will cover up whatever it is we don't have out there, and obviously big people are that. And so we're very aware of that," said Walsh, whose tenure as team president will end in one week.

Apparently, the people in the NYK front office are the only ones aware of that. All the fans watching the draft expected to get a guy last night that would make them instant champions

The Knicks wanted Shumpert so much, that they passed on a guy like Chris Singleton. That's ballsy. That shows conviction.

They believed Shumpert would be an important part of the team. They know he's not a starting center or a floor-spreading sharpshooter. The season doesn't start tomorrow. This was just the draft.

Yea, I'm slowly starting to come around on this guy after seeing some highlight vids of his defense and athleticism. But I'm still kind of scared of the notion of "he's a good defender...so lets go let him play defense" because defense HAS to be a team concept...one guy on the perimeter won't get it done.

But there are more moves to be made...

This is the second year in a row where I had to be told to calm down by a lady friend because of the draft. Last year is was "who the **** is Landry Fields?!?!?!" and this year it was "THAT'S NOT MARSHON BROOKS, WHAT THE **** IS GOING ON!??!?!"

The Knicks are systematically **** blocking me on draft night, what's up with that?

Let's be honest... Hitting a bunch of shots, on one day in a drill, doesn't mean you forget his 3 years at Ga Tech. I could hit plenty of shots when I'm hot in my driveway and nobdy is guarding me!

So, let's not close that book on Shumpert just yet.

Fact is D'antoni wont like this kid b/c he cant shoot the 3-ball. maybe in 2 years he'll fix that part of his game. This is Landry Fields folks. A guy with an NBA body, who will rebound and play defense. Not bad, but certainly not a scorer of the magnitude we're looking for from the SG, and definitely not the facilitator withe the instincts to play PG.

Douglas, Fields and Shumpert is 1 SG too many. My guess is Douglas or Fields is being dealt for Sessions or something.

Man, if Leonard fell in our laps... AND, truth is out... The kid we wanted almost fell to us. The PF/C from USC was our target. We went to our fallback option b/c Faried-Singleton would give us too small a front court.

Yea, I'm slowly starting to come around on this guy after seeing some highlight vids of his defense and athleticism. But I'm still kind of scared of the notion of "he's a good defender...so lets go let him play defense" because defense HAS to be a team concept...one guy on the perimeter won't get it done.

But there are more moves to be made...

This is the second year in a row where I had to be told to calm down by a lady friend because of the draft. Last year is was "who the **** is Landry Fields?!?!?!" and this year it was "THAT'S NOT MARSHON BROOKS, WHAT THE **** IS GOING ON!??!?!"

The Knicks are systematically **** blocking me on draft night, what's up with that?

Listen. DAL bought MEM 1st rounder last year. They took D-Jones. If we could go back, wouldn't you prefer we made a deal with MEM and take Jordan Crawford? I would take him over Fields.

Sure, we did get one of the better players in the draft, based on what he did last year. No doubt. But will he be an important piece moving FWD? I hope so. BUt they don't call it a RG (rebounding guard). It's called a SG for a reason.

Listen. DAL bought MEM 1st rounder last year. They took D-Jones. If we could go back, wouldn't you prefer we made a deal with MEM and take Jordan Crawford? I would take him over Fields.

Sure, we did get one of the better players in the draft, based on what he did last year. No doubt. But will he be an important piece moving FWD? I hope so. BUt they don't call it a RG (rebounding guard). It's called a SG for a reason.

Yea I would take Jordan Crawford, and a defensive minded coach. I was just saying that I'm not quite as livid about the pick as I was last night. Still disappointed tho.

But it's looking like Monta might be on his way out of GS. Wouldn't it be in our best interest to see if we can swing a 3-team trade of some sort to get him?

I know that would start a debate of CP3 vs Monta, but Monta was putting up Derrick Rose numbers at times last year. When Curry was out of the lineup, he ran the point, and was nearing double digit assists, and he even put up 25+ points and 10+ assists multiple times with Curry actually playing (I believe he lit the Magic up both times they played this year, and got the Spurs too.)

I think I break the bank right now for him. He gives us scoring, distributing, and a freakishly athletic guard who gets steals and can keep his man in front of him and reroute him to help.

Yea I would take Jordan Crawford, and a defensive minded coach. I was just saying that I'm not quite as livid about the pick as I was last night. Still disappointed tho.

But it's looking like Monta might be on his way out of GS. Wouldn't it be in our best interest to see if we can swing a 3-team trade of some sort to get him?

I know that would start a debate of CP3 vs Monta, but Monta was putting up Derrick Rose numbers at times last year. When Curry was out of the lineup, he ran the point, and was nearing double digit assists, and he even put up 25+ points and 10+ assists multiple times with Curry actually playing (I believe he lit the Magic up both times they played this year, and got the Spurs too.)

I think I break the bank right now for him. He gives us scoring, distributing, and a freakishly athletic guard who gets steals and can keep his man in front of him and reroute him to help.

Oh and did I mention that he drops buckets while also dishing?

Anyone? anyone? How about some Monta?

Didn't GSW offer Monta straight up for Lee and we said no? I wonder how Monta Ellis would play with Melo and STAT, I've heard he's an underrated passer.

Didn't GSW offer Monta straight up for Lee and we said no? I wonder how Monta Ellis would play with Melo and STAT, I've heard he's an underrated passer.

I think the story on that is still murky, I dunno if we said no or if GSW said no. They've fielded offers for him the past few years and never seem to move him. But after the draft last night, it looks like he might be on his way out.

And yea dude, he's an extremely underrated passer. If you look at his skill set, and look at Derrick Rose's skill set...you're not going to notice too many differences. His game has grown since he was drafted. He's a volume shooter that shoots over 45% from the field, gets to the free throw line, gets like 2 steals a game, and he has hops.

He's not a pure point, but he's the definition of combo guard because he can play both positions at a high level...you want him to play off the ball? fine. Control the ball and the offense? fine. Break down the D off the dribble? no problem. Stretch the floor? fine.

He has a better jumper than Rose, I would argue that he has better footwork than Rose (his turn around jumpers are wet,) and he can facilitate, he shows good bball IQ, and he's tough as ****. Dude had someone fall into his leg, he fell back on it, rolled his ankle, limped to the locker room, and played in the next game and scored 25 points.

Monta, Melo, and STAT....we'd need a defensive minded coach...but that's devastating right there. Maybe even try to get back a cheap big from a the third team involved or something.

I don't mind this draft pick. We needed a player that can guard Wade, Allen, etc. I honestly don't think Singleton and Faried would have gotten much playing time behind Melo and STAT.

yeh I got osme time to sleep on it last night I believe it wasnt the worst pick, chris singleton would have to be coming in for melo off the bench , and faried would be coming off the bench for amare or get osme short minutes playing with amare in an undersized back court. I just hope this kid is the best defensive guard in the draft like the knicks believe, he could be a wade,rondo,rose stopper and with all this hype about his defence his D is way better than TD's from wht I gear, so I hope he gets the starting role, still a little puzzled why we took him so early, maybe we we coudlent get a late 1st rounder to draft him so we had to reach a bit. But we did buy a 2nd rounder should have drafted selby with that.

This was a solid and much needed pick. A defensive guard that can play both ends of the court as well as the point and shooting. I would have liked a rebounding defensive big man ( like Byombo) but most of the good ones were picked early. Faried is overrated (imo). I'm just glad they didn't pick Nikola. I started sweating as he was still available a pick before the Knicks...knowing how D'Ant likes that Euro ball style of play. Thank the lawd he was pick before we were on the clock. We don't need anymore tall dudes hanging around the 3 point line.